Pratt May Not Like the Handle – But “Day Break” is SF

Submitted by: Kyle Nin (SoSF Staff Reporter)

In an interview with Sci Fi.com’s SciFi Wire, actress Victoria Pratt, co-star of the new Taye Diggs SF ABC show “Day Break” has a problem with the SF handle being placed on the show.

“There is obviously an element of the unknown,” Pratt said in the interview. “I guess it depends on what your definition of science fiction is. There is an element of the unknown, but nobody other than Hopper (Taye Diggs) knows it. The rest of the characters, we’re just living our lives completely oblivious to the fact that this day is repeating. So I just get up, and I do my thing. My day has changed because of information I’ve learned or because of things that happen around me, but in my character’s eyes, I’m just waking up, and it’s another day. Hopper is the only one who might wake up and think he’s in the middle of a sci-fi show, but it’s definitely not played for that. It’s a mystery, really.”

“Day Break” revolves around a narcotics detective (Diggs) who gets framed for a murder he never committed. He gets caught up in the same day over and over until he can gather enough evidence to prove his innocence. The show will be a mid-season replacement (November 2006) for that other ABC SF hit show “LOST” (which returns in January 2007), and costars Pratt and “Firefly”/”Serenity” star Adam Baldwin.

Perhaps someone at ABC needs to school Ms. Pratt that SF can include mystery, interpersonal relationships, comedy, drama, animation – and the list goes on. SF means more than the old 1950’s definition of science fiction. It now embrasses a multi-layered world of intrique, humor, high-drama, and excellent storytelling. “Day Break,” if it holds up to its press, promises to be a mixture of mystery in a fantasical world in the mind of Taye Diggs’ character -whether that world is real or imagined does not remove it from its SF influence.

Pratt may be under the misguided concerned that if the show gets tagged with a SF label it will turn off possible viewers. Just the opposite. If, as “Battlestar Galactica,” “The 4400,” “The Dead Zone,” “LOST” and “Doctor Who” have proven, the story content is there and the characters are developed enough to hold one’s interest, viewers will come onboard regardless of the handle placed on it.

Is “Day Break” mystery? Yes! Is it intrique? Of course! Is it SF? Absolutely! Stand up and be proud Victoria – you are in excellent company.